[Rockhounds] New Mexico / Colorado trip suggestions + Leadville Sympo

[Al Balmer]

On Thu, 2 Aug 2007 11:01:07 EDT, Alpen at aol.com wrote:

> 
>Hello Al,
> 
>I saw your posting and was interested in both the area you mentioned that  
>had the pyrite and the lake with petrified wood. Would you be able to give me  
>directions to both?  If so, that would be fantastic.

The pyrite I saw was on the Henderson Mill property. If you contacted
the mill, they might be persuaded to let you dig through the pile. At
the time, there was a resident mineralogist, who could tell you what
else there might be there.

I'm afraid I've long since lost the directions to the lake. There were
many branches and twigs. They were (stretching my memory here) white
outside, and layered with brownish agate inside. Sort of hollow, as if
they petrified from the outside in, then were exposed to air and
rotted away material in the center.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help. I can offer an amusing follow-up
story, though. On the way back to Denver, I kept a rock pick on the
seat beside me, and stopped quite a few places to use it. When I got
to the airport, I checked my luggage, then went to turn in the car.
Oops, the rock pick was still there. I put it in my briefcase, which
provided a break from routine for the inspector on the X-ray machine
<g>. I had a nice conversation with the security people, describing
what it was for. After I showed them my membership card for the
Mineral Section of the Rochester Academy of Science, they decided I
was a scientist (hah!) and probably harmless. They did ask me not to
take it out during the flight. I don't think I'd get away with that
today <g>.
> 
>I had no idea the Henderson mine had that long of a tunnel.  I've  often 
>wondered where all the tailings end up.
> 
>Thanks for any help you can offer.
> 
>Eric Bindner
> 
>In a message dated 7/31/2007 7:02:02 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time,  
>rockhounds-request at lists.drizzle.com writes:
>
>Message:  11
>Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2007 14:34:11 -0700
>From: Al Balmer  <albalmer at att.net>
>Subject: Re: [Rockhounds] New Mexico / Colorado  trip suggestions +
>Leadville    Symposium
>To:  "Rockhounds at drizzle.com: A mailing list for rock and gem
>collectors"    <rockhounds at lists.drizzle.com>
>Message-ID:  <7dava3lg57kl1uag01vkmprgt1iil9t0fl at 4ax.com>
>Content-Type:  text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
>On Tue, 31 Jul 2007 17:11:16 -0400,  pmodreski at aol.com wrote:
>
>>Since Tom mentioned it, I realized that I  ought to have posted something 
>here to Rockhounds about the Friends of  Mineralogy-Colorado Chapter, field 
>symposium in Leadville this  summer.
>>
>>It's a weekend meeting + field trips headquartered at  the National Mining 
>Hall of Fame & Museum in Leadville, August 24-26.?  There's an evening talk at 
>the Museum Friday, then a field trip to the Climax  Molybdenum mine* on 
>Saturday morning, a tour of the Mining Museum and another  talk in the afternoon 
>followed by a banquet Saturday evening, with a dinner  talk by Ed Raines on the 
>Leadville Mining District.? Sunday will be a field  trip led by Ed around the 
>Leadville mining areas. (*A historic tour of the  famous Matchless Mine is an 
>alternate option if registration exceeds the bus  capacity (65) for the Climax 
>trip.)
>
>This is the Henderson mine? Years  ago, as a software engineer for a
>process control company, I spent a week  at the Henderson mill, at the
>end of a 14 mile tunnel to the mine. I  remember huge chunks of pyrite
>in the tailings.
>
>While there, I got  directions to a small lake which had lots of
>petrified  wood
>

-- 
Al Balmer
Sun City, AZ